Fall Colors of Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana

“Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.” – Ray Bradbury

We have found our favorite times of travel to be the spring and fall. Yes, our summer home grabs our attention for the warmer months, but it's on the edges of the summer season where we have come to enjoy smaller crowds, cooler weather, and fewer bugs.

The colors of autumn are always a draw, and with our Indiana trees showing a confident blush, we knew that more robust colors would be trending in a southerly direction.

We have enjoyed a number of trips through the midlands, usually on our way to some further destination (see other blog pages on Great Smoky Mountains, Natchez Trace, and Florida trips), but this trip found us in these middle-south states and happy for the chance to study them in more detail and at a slower pace than just passing through.

Lincoln bust

Young Lincoln bust

Our first stop was Hodgenville, Kentucky, to visit the Lincoln Museum. This small town, located near Lincoln's birthplace which is honored at a National Historical Park, proudly has the Lincoln Museum on the town's center circle. We enjoyed the collection here of everything Lincoln, with a focus on his earlier years. A number of the items in the collection are from the former Lincoln Museum in downtown Fort Wayne. I'm always drawn to the rough textured sculptures and this youthful bust of Lincoln was also a particularly fascinating display.

We overnighted at Cave Country RV near Mammoth Cave on I-65. This park, with convenient proximity to the interstate and ample dining and supplies choices, has been a frequent stopover for us when traveling south. The pull-through full service lots are level, the people are welcoming, and the dog park was a plus.

Our southernmost destination, Fall Creek Falls State Park in south-central Tennessee, was our target for the following evening. Along the way, we enjoyed some of Kentucky's scenic highways, along with a brief stop at Burgess Falls State Park. We weren't able to hike the necessary 3/4 mile to see the main attraction, so we will put this park with its unique falls our to-do list.

Falls Creek Falls State Park, located about 11 miles east of Spencer, Tennessee, is one of Tennessee's largest and most visited state parks. From its position atop the rugged Cumerland Plateau, the park features Fall Creek Falls. At 256 feet tall, it's one of the highest waterfalls in the eastern US.

Here's a collection of images from Falls Creek Falls: Our two-person RV unit, tree-lined park routes, a unique wall inside the visitor center, and one of its unusual ceilings, George Hole, the great Falls Creek Falls, some hiking trail steps, another falls, colorful gorges, and trails.

LTV Wonder RL at Fall Creek SP

Graceful sightseeing lanes

Flagstone interior wall

Unique ceiling at Visitor Ctr

Stone wall at George Pond

Fall Creek Falls Overlook

Following our three-night stay at Falls Creek, we turned north for a short visit at the Sergeant Alvin C. York State Historical Site. York was a decorated WWI hero who grew up in the hills and hollers of Northern Tennessee near Pall Mall. His home, given to him by the Rotary Club of Nashville upon his return from war, is on the National Registry of Historical Places. Across the highway is a building resembling the general store that York maintained after his return. Here, a small museum of WWI items are displayed, along with the uniform Gary Cooper wore in filming the award-winning 1946 film Sergeant York.

We traveled some winding roads to make it out of Pall Mall, Tennessee, but eventually found some good highways on our way to Cumberland Falls State Resort Park in south-eastern Kentucky, near Corbin. The falls are the main draw, and they promote the unique moonbow that can be seen almost monthly in the mist of the gorge. The park also features horseback riding, some challenging hikes, and a classic state park lodge. Below are a few images from our two-night stay at Cumberland Falls. (A video of my drone flyover of the falls can be viewed at https://www.facebook.com/craig.tidball/videos/762591992548868 )

A Buc-ees greeting

We began our homeward trek with our first visit to a Buc-ee's Gas Station, this one near Richmond, KY. This place was an experience: probably 50 gas pumps, no semis, good food, plus every candy imaginable. I saw a couple from back home, but before I could leave my spot in the check-out line to visit with them, they were lost in the crowd. That place was buzzing.

We entered Indiana mid-afternoon and found our way to Clifty Falls State Park, just outside of the historic Ohio River town of Madison. I had trouble securing a spot in this popular campground but found the Campnab app to be a great resource for finding a site in popular campgrounds. We spent an afternoon visiting Madison which was bustling with shoppers along their historic downtown district.

Our final stop of our journey was at Mounds State Park, just outside Anderson. We enjoyed our stay here with the opportunity to visit the Indian Mounds, the Nature Center, and to hike the trails. We hope to return to this park again, as we found the sites grassy and roomy, and the trails were pleasurable to walk, especially with the fall colors in full array.

Our nine-day trip was blessed with good weather and fantastic colors. A week later, we might have found them even more intense, but we were more than pleased with the fullness of autumn we were able to enjoy. I can see making this or a similar loop again, as these middle-country states do a great job of displaying the natural beauty of their states. Maybe we'll find you there Along the Pooka Trail.